Private International Law: Brussels Convention and Court Jurisdiction

This discussion post examines the principles of private international law, comparing it to common and international law, and focusing on the Brussels Convention's role in determining court jurisdiction. The author summarizes the core concepts of the discussion, which includes the general principles of international law, the importance of international treaties, and the preference of English and Welsh courts for common law. The post also includes a response to feedback from a tutor, where the author agrees with the Brussels Convention's approach and expresses interest in learning more about the Hague Service Convention. The discussion provides insights into the interplay of customary laws and international law in resolving complex disputes between nations and foreign companies. The author also provides references to relevant books and journals to support the analysis.

Running head: DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DISCUSSION
Summary of the discussion
To summarize the entire discussion in brief, it needs to be pointed out that the
discussion gives an overview of the general principles of private international law by
comparing it with the general principles of common law and the general principles of
international law. As held by Lord Phillimore general principles of international law are
recognised by civilized Nations for maintaining a friendly and peaceful relationship with
other nations; it is more like a friendly negotiation that Nations have between them in order to
keep political tensions and negative diplomacy at bay1. Most modern nations think it to be
wise to be a signatory to most international conventions and treaties which helps them to
transact spotlessly with each other. By agreeing to the terms of such international
conventions and treaties, the signatory members agrees to settle disputes between them by
following the directions of alternative dispute resolution bodies and international courts in
most of the cases. The discussion also mentions that the courts of England and Wales choose
to follow common law principles over international law even when the party's to the dispute
are foreign individuals or companies2.
Therefore the paper rightly supports the authority of Brussels convention that is
overruled the authority of European traditional laws in regard to determining the jurisdiction
of the courts. The jurisdiction of a court should be determined by the place where the action
had arisen is quite justified. This it could be stated that modern States have judiciously
clubbed both customary laws as well as the international law to handle its complex disputes
with ease; the former to form the basic legal rules of a country, while the latter to deal with
other nations or foreign companies.
1 Koskenniemi, Martti. Sources of international law. Routledge, 2017.
2 Hartley, Trevor C. Choice-of-court agreements under the European and international instruments: the revised
Brussels I Regulation, the Lugano Convention and the Hague Convention. Oxford University Press, 2013.

2DISCUSSION
Reply to the Tutor
Dear Stuart,
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback and suggestion pertaining to my
discussion on the jurisdiction of courts based on Brussels convention. As a researcher I
support Brussels convention and its decision to remove court’s discretion in certain respects. I
am looking forward to go through to the Hague service convention or a bilateral service
convention in order to understand the situation when a claimant seeks order for alternative
service outside the jurisdiction of his country. I agree to the fact that there are linguistic
differences among the concerned authorities that deal with international disputes, like ok the
International Court of Justice governed by the UN.
The case laws provided by you, Stuart gives a better view of the current scenario of
international law based on different conventions like the Brussels convention and the Hague
service convention. The case of Societe,……… give the view that the Court of Appeal
treated both the terms 'exceptional’ and 'special' interchangeably, thereby holding the opinion
that Hague service convention lets the Court to apply alternative services bye a certain
method which is not permitted by local law. The case of Royal Petrol Trading Co v Total
India PVT Ltd [2018] EWHC 1272 (Comm) gives a clear picture that the courts have talked
about 'good reason’ for the applicability of the Hague service convention to the matter.
Thus, by your feedback I certainly look forward to have an in-depth knowledge on
Hague service convention soon, in order to understand the arguments made in the cases
mentioned by you. The point raised by you pertaining to the removal of the discretion of the
member states courts in regard to deciding International disputes.

3DISCUSSION
Bibliography
Books / Jounals
Hartley, Trevor C. Choice-of-court agreements under the European and international
instruments: the revised Brussels I Regulation, the Lugano Convention and the Hague
Convention. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Koskenniemi, Martti. Sources of international law. Routledge, 2017.